When Gmail fails you, it fails really hard.
I was going through my Spam folder last night (because you never know– among the poor souls begging me to give them my checking information, there might be some gems), and boy, am I glad I did. An email from one of my favorite bands, Noctura (whose song “Caged” I reviewed here), had released a new EP! Under a new moniker! I quickly flagged the email as NOT SPAM (dammit, Google) and rushed to their website to pick up the new songs.
The Noctura of old was a rock group in the vein of Evanescence and Within Temptation, with vocalist Mandy Suiter’s vocals rising from Kris Haughey and Jeremy Roche’s crunching guitars like a phoenix floating over its own flaming wreckage. That aspect of the music remains, but now Noctura has become Westvale, and they’ve added a bit of electro-pop into the mix!
The EP is unfortunately only four tracks– I’ve already decided they need at least twelve more in order to satisfy my thirst for amazing music featuring female vocalists. (It’s one of those things where most groups meet one qualification or the other, you know?) But those four tracks are fantastic. They’re perfect if you need to get pumped up, to go for a run or beat the shit out of a speed bag. They’re also perfect if you just need to stick the headphones on your head while riding the subway and escape to a surreal, ethereal paradise.
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Look, let me preface this post by announcing right off the bat that I do not generally consider myself to be a rap/hip-hop/R&B fan. I definitely don’t have a vendetta against the genre or anything, I just tend to prefer my singers female and hitting notes way up in the stratosphere. You know what I mean?
But! I had a few friends involved with the production of a new artist, and their excitement for the things they were creating was catching. The artist’s name is Charlie Rose, and he’s going to be doing some great things. Having the privilege to watch this album come to fruition, from the early days of recording and slowly releasing preview tracks on SoundCloud to the countdown to release, was really something special.
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If you’ve been going through Pentatonix withdrawal, fear not. The talented group has made their way back to YouTube with their first video release in months. The group released “The Evolution of Michael Jackson” this morning while announcing they’ve been busy working on their first original album.
Watch the video:
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![Max Schneider](http://popcitylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/max-schneider-catherine-powell.png)
Credit: Catherine Powell
Singer/songwriter, musician and actor Max Schneider is gearing up for a busy summer. He’s heading out on the Boys of Zummer Tour with Fall Out Boy and Wiz Khalifa, working on music for both his side project and his upcoming solo album, and eagerly anticipating the release of Lionsgate’s Love & Mercy, in which he has a supporting role. Read on for our interview with Max Schneider.
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Forget what you think you know about A Capella music. It’s not all “Pitch Perfect” and college campuses. In fact, what I witnessed last week at the Theater at Madison Square Garden absolutely blew my mind. Pentatonix goes beyond what one would expect of an a capella group that got their start on NBC’s “The Sing Off”. Although they won that competition, it didn’t exactly make their dreams come true. It was, however, their immense talent, dedication, work ethic, and amazing personalities that turned them into global superstars. With a little help from YouTube.
Pentatonix kicked off their “On My Way Home” tour on February 25th and proved to their fans that this time, they were taking things to a new level.
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